Brigid Kosgei broke the women’s course record while Amare Hailemichael Samson became the first male competitor outside Kenya to win the title in the fifth Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon on Saturday.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Kosgei crossed the line in two hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds to better the mark set by Bahraini Eunice Chumba - 2:20:41 - in the elite women’s race last year.
Kosgei finished ahead of the Ethiopian pair of Hawi Feysa Gejia and Sintayehu Dessi as she aims to make it on the Kenyan national team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sharing the honours on the day was Samson, who ended Kenyan stranglehold in the men’s event. The Eritrean clocked two hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds to come home clear of Kenya's Leonard Barsoton (2:09:37) and Turkey’s Ilham Ozbilan (2:10:16).